In fact, for nice places it seems to be very healthy!

There are many towns in this country that are very short term friendly and can turn a healthy profit.How would you feel if your city shut out short term rentals?

A great HML will service the loans for you, as well.  2nd Liens/Gap Financing is still steady in Texas but it is a VERY risky investment but working with a HML will allow healthy returns on our money without any effort other than signing some docs and sending a wire.

We personally wanted to live closer to downtown, but we found that these areas were close to tourist attractions and neighborhood shops and had a healthy amount of STR activity.

A detailed lease agreement is all well and good if the renter is a reasonable person, otherwise it might as well be toilet paper to be soiled and flushed. 

In general, you can see the steady growth in market cap, which shows a healthy market.Not to open another can of worms, but another reason to speak with someone local will be to discuss the plethora of exploding areas around the city that are ripe for STR and MTR growth. 

Also, you will want to know the soil types, supported/available utilities, where to establish easements (if no road frontage), and per acre pricing at a minimum.

Most water issues can be handled by grating the soil around the home, gutters cleaned and down spouts extended. 

It's been a while and hope everyone is staying safe and healthy during this time.  

Seeing more buyers wanting to stay in Raleigh is a good indicator that CoL is healthy, and the local population is approving of the cities expansion in recent years.